The stranger on the stool again
drew Asha’s gaze, compelled her to look at him.
Dared her to look at him. She tried to mask her glance, nonchalant, as
though bored and seeking diversion, letting it sweep the whole room until it
finally reached him. She failed. Their eyes locked and Asha nearly flinched as
she felt the focus of his mind. A throb
of radiant sexuality sent a shiver of physical awareness through her body,
slamming into her womb with a force she’d never experienced.
This
man unnerved her. Rarely did men do that to her. Actually, no
man had. With her intense cat-like eyes,
she could look down her nose and set even the strongest ones to feeling like
slugs. That ability second nature to
her, she turned on the frost and glared as if he were something she’d stepped
in.
As
a rule, that sent them running. Not this
one. As though he not only knew the
rules to the game, but also had a cheat sheet, the stranger leaned back against
the counter with a wolfish grin and looked his fill. Not even pretending to do anything else, he
just stared at her. It was damn
unsettling. She couldn’t even pretend to
gaze out the windows at the pastoral scenery of the horse farm across the road;
she had asked Rhonda to close the blinds against the harsh afternoon glare.
“Here you go.” Netta set an iced Royal Crown Cola, a salad and a basket of rolls before her. She stepped so that her body blocked Asha
from the stranger’s view. “You know that man at the counter?”
Thankful
Netta had given her the perfect excuse for taking her eyes from the invader,
Asha broke a roll and buttered it. “What
man?”
Netta
gave a mocking laugh and popped her gum a couple times. “Nice try, Sugarplum. Men like that are
impossible not to notice.”
“Never
saw him before in my life.” Asha sipped
the cola. Oh, she would remember this man had they met.
A master
gossip, Netta excelled at knowing when to tell all, when to hint. With her smart mouth and flashing baby-blue
eyes, she’d charm a person’s life history from them in a wink. The Windmill
likely had higher profits this past year and a long line of regulars due to
Netta’s down-home charm. What she knew
about the stranger would be forthcoming.
The only way to
play the game, Asha mused, was to answer a question with a question. “Why would you think I know him?”
“Sexy Lips has a foreign accent. British I think, like yours. Gives a gal shivers.” Netta hugged herself and then chewed her
gum. “Also, I get this sense he was
waiting for something …maybe you. My granny knew
things. She passed that on to me.”
“Steak’s
up, Netta,” Sam, their cook, called through the open space, setting a plate up
on the warmer.
“Back
in two shakes.” Netta went to pick up
the inch-thick steak and returned to place it before Asha. “Eat up, Sugarplum.” She glanced sideways at the black-haired visitor
and raised her eyebrows. “Looks like
you’re gonna need all your strength.”
The real Windmill Motel that is the setting for the book
The Montlake Romance
team asked me to let you know that RIDING THE THUNDER will be included
in our 100 Kindle Romances for $1.99 Each in the US marketplace, starting
9/15/2015 and running through 10/15/2015.
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=11953709011
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=11953709011
Please note the other titles in the Sisters of Colford Hall series are also included in this promotion
